


The Devil Lies In Wait

by afteriwake



Category: Bleach
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-15
Updated: 2012-10-15
Packaged: 2017-11-16 08:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/537598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He had hoped it disappeared, but he was wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Devil Lies In Wait

**Author's Note:**

> For **airwaveeight** , who gave me the prompt “there is nothing nice, nor easy about Hollowfication. It is agony, in it's purest form. The return of his powers means the return of his Hollow.”

He had thought he was rid of it. But no, with the return of his shinigami powers came...it. That thing that sat in the back of his mind. The presence that, he had to admit, scared him a little. He thought when he'd blended with Zangetsu that would be the end of him. But no, that dark blot in the back of his mind was there.

The first time he felt it wasn't when he was dealing with an enemy that needed that extra boost of power. But he'd wanted to test out the theory that _all_ of his powers had come back. When he thought of pulling on his mask (and it was easy, so very easy, to slip into that and think it was the best idea in the world) he felt it. He heard the laugh, the crazy hyena laugh that tapered off into a malicious chuckle. Yes, that Hollow of his very own, he was back.

He didn't make his presence overt. He was there, waiting. But Ichigo wouldn't show weakness, would give him a chance. Even if it meant he had to be hyper vigilant, he was not going to turn into that...thing...he was on the dome. Inoue and Ishida didn't have to tell him what he had become there, what he had done. He knew. He remembered. It was like he was trapped in a glass box that he couldn't break, watching in horror as he decimated his opponent and then turned on his friends.

He never wanted it to happen again, not if he could help it.

So when he felt him sitting there, waiting patiently, he was reminded of a bit of scripture he's heard once, from a patient of his fathers who rambled about the Bible after he'd gotten the powerful pain medication. He had said that Satan would lie in wait, that he was patient. He would fight a person in their mind, and he would plant doubt.

If the man had known how scarily accurate that was for the thing inside Ichigo's head he probably would have tried an exorcism or something. Ichigo would have been eager for it, even though he'd seen the movies where things went horribly wrong during them, if he'd thought for even a moment that it might actually _work_ (and no, he had the firm belief that it would never ever _ever_ work because he couldn't be that lucky).

He felt him lurk when he was asleep, when he was in that state between deep sleep and just barely asleep, that place that was the beginning and the end of his night, the time right after he fell asleep and just before he awoke. He would be there, his very presence taunting him, almost goading him into conversing, for openly acknowledging that it was there. And so it waited, patiently. And finally, one night Ichigo had had enough. He knew he had to acknowledge the Hollow head on, or he would never get control back.

The negative copy of himself stared at him from across the gulf between buildings in Ichigo's personal mindscape, his own version of Zangetsu being held point first on the ground. They needed to exchange no words, because the threat was clear: _I can take over at any time, and you can't stop me, and we both know it._

And that, well, he wasn't going to let that happen. He stared at the part of him that he felt embodied the baser instincts, the impulses to use his power in order to be the strongest, the best, the only one left standing, and glared. “Stay the hell away from me,” Ichigo said quietly.

He chuckled, then pointed his version of Zangetsu at Ichigo. “You can't get rid of me.”

“I'll train. I'll keep control. And you will never be allowed to take over again.” This time it was Ichigo pointing Zangetsu at the other him. “I promise.”

He shook his head. “Yeah, right. Not having your powers, you got soft. I'll take over again, and I'll finish him off.”

Ichigo looked at him, and then lowered his sword. “I have control. I do. And one day I'll put you somewhere deep and dark and hidden in my head and you'll stay there and you'll never come out.”

His Hollow side simply shook his head. “Bring it on.”

“I will.” And with that, Ichigo forced himself to wake up. He would do whatever it took to keep him under lock and key. _Whatever_ it took. Because he would never succumb to that monster again. Never. And that was all there was to it.

\--

It stayed there, in the back of his mind. It didn't leave. In fact, the presence intensified. Whispers of promises that came across as threat skittered through Ichigo's brain as he regathered his strength, regained his control. But he was aggravated that this one thing stayed beyond his control. He wanted that side of his nature gone, buried far far away under a million bricks and a million feet of concrete on top of it. He just wanted him to go away and let peace reign in his head.

It wasn't a constant struggle, except when he was fighting. Tsukishima wasn't bringing himself to the fight, no, he was sending subordinates. Powerful ones, the more of them he fought. Reminded Ichigo a bit of what Aizen had said when he implied he'd had his hand in every fight Ichigo had participated it. Ichigo had called BS then but he wondered if Tsukishima had pulled a page from that head of Denizen’s. The more powerful the opponent the more inclined he was to pull on the mask, to use the extra boost of power to win. But he withheld.

But the voice, the nagging thought, the dark presence, it only grew worse. Now he couldn't sleep without it being there, grinning it's wicked grin, taunting him. And he tried to stay cool in that world of his, the one where the city was sideways and they stood on windows. But he noticed the weather changing there. It was no longer a clear sky...clouds were forming, dark blots on the sky. No rain, though. He was at least happy for that.

It was hard, though, so very very hard. He wanted to blow his top, explode, fight him. He had to keep himself in check, and it was getting harder and harder every day. And Tsukishima was sending more things to fight him, and finally he'd just had enough. He was going to find Tsukishima if it was the last thing he did and he was going to end it.

It didn't take long. It was almost as though he wanted to be found, finally wanted to have this fight with Ichigo. And they got right down to it with the smallest of pre-fight talk. It was refreshing after Aizen's and the Arrancar's constant lectures and fight commentary. It was good to just _fight_ without the extra stuff (the extra stuff had always bugged him, really, and just pissed him off more). But...Tsukishima was good. And he had Fullbring and shinigami powers, too. And having the powers he'd been using was not enough.

He needed the mask. He needed to Hollow powers. But he'd be damned if he was going to submit to that _thing_ to get them.

He pulled on his mask and felt his spiritual pressure flare. It was back, that power, that extra leverage he needed to get the job done completely. Yeah, Tsukishima might have Fullbring, and he might be a shinigami like him, but he didn't have straight Hollow powers. He didn't have a mask that he could use (it was almost like pulling the mask on was flipping a light switch to on, he thought suddenly) and that gave Ichigo the advantage.

But...even with the power boost, he was losing. He felt his mask crack. What the hell was going on?

“Not using the power...told you you were weak,” the voice in his head said. “You can't control it. But I can. You just have to let me.” Ichigo wavered. Letting it take over...the fight would end, yeah, but...he would reign control. What if he didn't give it back?

Before he could make a decision he felt Tsukishima's sword slide through his shoulder. He felt his grip on Zangestsu slip slightly, felt it rattle around in his fist just a little. He looked at the man, saw the satisfied smile on his face and simply let go of the control he'd been trying to keep.

It happened instantaneously. Every other time he'd turned Hollow it hadn't hurt but now...now there was blinding, agonizing pain. He could feel his body changing, feel it all. He was locked in the box again, only this time it felt like it was filled with scalding water and lined with broken glass. He wanted to give up, he wanted it to stop. He couldn't take it. It had been so much time since he'd felt that level of pain.

“No,” he said, his voice sounding eerie. “No...no...no! No! No!” But his voice tapered off into a guttural wail no matter how much he screamed, and then he watched in horror as he advanced on Tsukishima.

And all he did was slam his katana into Ichigo's face, and then he was back in his body as the Hollow bits fell away. He had shinigmai powers, Ichigo remembered lately. Apparently he could cleanse spirits, and--

That was his last clear thought before Tsukishima pivoted and rammed his sword through Ichigo's chest. Ichigo looked down, saw the blood spurting as Tsukishima removed the sword. He hadn't told anyone he was coming to this fight. He had specifically avoided telling Orihime. As he stumbled back a few steps before sinking to the ground, he realized what a stupid decision that had been.

Ichigo fell backwards, and before he closed his eyes for the last time, he saw his friends, saw his family. And then he saw it. And it almost looked sad. He had expected angry, not sad. But...since they had both failed, perhaps it was right to feel sad. After all, neither one of them would be around, except hopefully in Soul Society, or at least Ichigo would be there. And that though caused him to die with a smile on his lips, knowing he would finally get to see old friends again.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A Part Turns Grey And Rots Away](https://archiveofourown.org/works/537602) by [afteriwake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake)




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